Mothers Nurture, Fathers Build Up
by Infinite Pen
Summary: A very spoiled Baby Trunks changes after he is reprimanded by his father,Vegeta, who stayed home after Cell...contains some V/B romance;
1. Chapter 1

Mothers Nuture, Fathers Build Up

Chapter 1

Don't Own DBZ, of course!

Vegeta looked down at his sleeping son as the light of the full moon shined on him through the window. Trunks remained in undisturbed slumber despite the cold finger of his father that caressed his lavender locks. He couldn't help but think…before his son of this timeline had even grown up; he was privileged to see how the boy would possibly turn out. Future Trunks was his son also…well at least…who this very child would grow up to be; he never thought that the boy would be violently murdered right before his very eyes. This would cause any decent father to be driven by uncontrollable rage and act in haste.

Cell had killed the boy, and Vegeta no longer cared about those feelings that he had compressed for so long since the battle with the androids. The rainbow of emotions burst through his very soul and forced their way out, triggering him to attack Dr Gero's ultimate creation at full force, but it did him no good. Cell had retaliated by knocking the saiyan prince to the ground.

Breaking his gaze from the enchanting glow of the moon, Vegeta realized he had never stopped stroking the soft strands upon his son's head and then gently swept his finger from the baby's head to one of his hands. He was then startled when Trunks swiftly grabbed his finger and tightly clung to it. He tugged softly to free his finger, but the half saiyan baby was stronger than he had thought. He couldn't help but to smirk as he thought _"this is my son."_ But his proud smirk turned in to a shameful frown as he began to think about his _other_ son again.

After all Trunks had done for him, he constantly shot down and ignored the boy. Their time together in the hyperbolic time chamber could have been used to strengthen each other, but he chose to train alone. There were many times the boy feared his father was in some kind of danger and rushed to his side, but he ended up being punched or shoved away. However, Trunks did realize his father only acted this way in order to impress him, to show him that his father was no weakling regardless of being killed in his time, to show him that he had a strong and proud father that didn't need a helping hand from anyone. He had to become stronger than Kakarrot. He had to become stronger than Cell. He had to show his son from the future that he was the strongest, most powerful saiyan ever…Vegeta…the Prince of all Saiyans.

He would often observe the boy when they took rests from the intense training. Trunks would be relieved to wake up from a nightmare and know that his father would be sleeping in the bed near his own or happy to sit down at the same table and eat across from him or even okay to soak in the same hot bath that soothed their aching muscles, although he never said a single word. The boy never experienced this in his own timeline; and for Trunks, it was like a dream to spend so much time with his father even if he was ignored most of their stay in the chamber. That made Vegeta realize how highly the boy thought of him, even though he never really knew his father of the future, even without seeing him alive. As he thought back to their experience in that room, he concluded that it was Trunks that made him stronger. The will to prove to his son that he was the best sparked his ability to go above and beyond super saiyan.

The baby subconsciously released his father's finger and balled his tiny hand into a fist. It was strange that he didn't wake up crying, and Vegeta hoped that Trunks would wake up tomorrow morning and look at his father without shedding a tear. Bringing his hand to rest on sidebar of the crib, he recalled the future Trunks didn't seem so afraid of him. He had a fear, but not a morbid fear. It was the fear any son should have for his father, along with the pride he should also have in him.

But hadn't the boy heard what a cruel person he had been? Surely Gohan must have spoken some degrading words about him. It must have been his mother's words…yes…Bulma…maybe she had told the boy stories that made his father seem like a hero who had turned into a legend. She could have told him that his father was a ruthless killer, who only cared about becoming super and defeating Kakarrot and nothing else…not even her, but she didn't. She had made him out to be nothing more than a prideful man that worked hard to achieve his goals and ambitions, not a cruel, heartless…what is that word she always called him in this timeline…not bastard, although she used that one often too, but the other one. He suddenly tried recalling a time she used that particular word for him. His eyes twitched when he found a _popping fresh_ memory.

It was when he and the boy emerged from the time chamber, and she had showed up with the baby. He was very irritated at her presence when she should have gone home and stayed out of trouble. She and Kakarrot were engrossed in a silly conversation about hair when there were more important things to worry about.

"…_I don't have time to listen to Kakarrot's hair problems!" he yelled clenching his fists at her. "…But I sure wouldn't mind knowing why you're here!"_

_Bulma turned to look at him and rolled her eyes as she started to dig through her pockets. "Hold on I'll show you…" She started still searching. "You see…this fight with Cell is going to be tough, so I thought you guys might be able to use some new combat suits…" She stated pulling the capsule from her pocket and began to click it open. "…and if you stop being a JERK, Vegeta then maybe you can have one!"_

Ah…yes…that's the word…_jerk_. He then turned his attention to the woman who had dozed off sitting comfortably in the padded rocking chair near the baby's crib, and she had a large book down side up in her lap entitled _Nursery Rhymes_. It seemed that she had put Trunks down and read to him until they both fell asleep. She was fully clothed in the horizontally striped, cowl neck sweater dress she was wearing when they said goodbye to the other Trunks earlier that day. He slowly padded over to her, and reached out for the book.

He had taught himself to read the simple characters of most of the languages of earth and began to test his skills by reading the book easy enough for five year olds.

"_Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water…Jack fell down and…broke his crown_?" Vegeta read _to himself in confusion and slightly tilted his head to the side_. "…and Jill came tumbling after?"

He thought to himself that the first page was kind of weird, but then flipped to the next page. He began reading to himself again just to see if the second page was like the first.

"_Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall…Humpty Dumpty had a great fall? …all the kings' horses and all the kings' men…couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again?_ …These earthlings are stranger than I thought." He finished closing the book shut and placed it on Trunks' dresser. "It seems they possess the ability to be just as cruel as saiyans…it'd be scary if they were just as powerful." He chuckled to himself then looking down at the woman, the one he married just to become stronger, and much to his surprise it worked…well…not the way he thought it would, but it worked. He started to leave the room, but paused when heard her talk in her sleep.

"hmm…Vegeta…" she muttered, causing his heart to palpitate at the sound of his name. He turned to face her again, thinking she had awakened, but apparently she was still asleep. "…don't go…don't go away again…" He was in shock that she had spoken those words right when he was leaving the nursery. Better yet, he was thinking of taking another long journey by himself, but he hadn't said anything to her.

He walked back to where she slept, and gently scooped her up from the chair. Bringing her to her room, he pulled the covers back on her king sized bed and laid her down. He started to cover her, but then he thought he had better remove her clothing so she could sleep comfortably.

He began to ease her dress up starting from her thighs and slowly pushed it up to her upper body, gently removing her arms from the sleeves and lifting the dress over her head to reveal her lacy black underwear as he held her up with his free hand. He slightly turned to toss the dress in the hamper on the other side of the room and then brought his attention back to the woman he still held up by one hand; he slowly removed it to let her gently fall down to the pillow underneath.

Much to his astonishment, Bulma had subconsciously reached an arm up and pulled him down on top of her now half naked body, turning his cheeks bright red. "…I knew…you would stay…" She spoke in her sleep once more, then suddenly kissed him. His eyes widened when she forcibly crushed her lips against his, but they slowly closed as he gave in to her sluggish advances and lightly held her back.

And just when he did, she had actually awakened from her slumber, and slowly opened her eyes to see Vegeta's closed ones. She was confused at first but also relaxed in his arms and reclosed her eyes.

He reluctantly ended the kiss and opened his narrow dark brown eyes to see her opening her big blue ones which made him jerk back a little as if he was a kid that had gotten caught doing wrong by his mother. He started to loosen his hold on her and sat up as he intended to retreat, but she shyly tugged him back to her.

"We…we're still…married you know…" She quickly sputtered out, unsuccessfully attempting to pull him back down. He had been sleeping in his old room since he came back home and during their break from fighting Cell, but she never mentioned anything to him until now, probably trying to save them both an embarrassing quarrel in front of everyone including the other Trunks. Or maybe she thought he probably wanted to be alone after being humiliated by Cell. Whatever the cause, everything was over now, and they were alone again after almost two years.

"I know..." He calmly said as he easily escaped her grasp and got up from her bed. "…don't remind me."

"Oh come on Vegeta…" She said covering her now cold body with the bedding. "…you KNOWWWW you missed me!" She sang as a matter of factly, as the redness in his cheeks returned. But fortunate for him, he had his back turned to her as he walked to the opened door like he was going to leave out.

"Oh really?" he said regaining his composure, as he crossed his arms looking out into the hall. "Would you say I missed your hideous face the most, or that annoying vulgar mouth of yours that constantly spits insults like JERK…BASTARD…or let me see…a new one…" Vegeta recalled a new insult to add to the list before he turned the lights out. "…UGLY MUG? Who would miss that?"

"Yeah right!" She spat and then slammed her body against her pillows and closed her eyes. "It didn't seem that way a few minutes ago…when you were enjoying that kiss…" she yawned, turning her back to his figure. "…good night…" She said then hearing the door close. "…and good riddance…JERK!" She intended to go right back to sleep, but the covers were mysteriously lifted, sending goose bumps all over her body from the chill.

"…but what I did miss…" He whispered while stealthily sliding his naked body into bed as she flashed her eyes back open. "…is this..." She turned to see his cold but rather sexy expression, outlined by the light of the moon, barely an inch away from her surprised one. He slowly closed his eyes and moved closer turning the inch into a millimeter. He then wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her body against his, sending her lips the last millimeter pressing against his. "…and this…" he added when he broke the kiss from her lips and lightly trailed down her neck as he gently laid her on her back. "…and—"His words came to an abrupt halt, as his body swiftly shot up and froze like a deer in headlights.

"…and what?" Bulma anxiously hissed, opening her eyes as she sat up on her elbows to look up at him."…what el—"

"Shhhh!" he said, listening intently with his keen sense of hearing as his ears twitched. "Blast it!" he then cursed, throwing the covers off and getting out of bed.

"What's up?" She obliviously asked as she turned her body to watch him searching for his pants he undetectably discarded previously with the rest of his clothes. He located them and quickly pulled them on then flipped the lights on. "What's going on?" she said as she squint her eyes from the instant brightness of the light.

"This…" Vegeta sighed, pulling the door opening to reveal the loud screechy crying of their baby. "…which was not missed."

Apparently, Bulma had her room redone with sound proof walls and doors years back in her late teens when she started sneaking Yamacha in, which she wasn't going to tell her husband that, and was sleeping with it closed ever since…well…she had to replace the door when Vegeta called himself blasting it open before he left. But when Trunks was born she slept with the door open to listen out for him; and now that daddy's home, the door was closed again.

"Oh…my Trunks!" She cried, instinctively jumping out of bed, grabbing her robe and slippers. "…mommy's sowww sorwwee!" She apologized in baby talk, running down the hall to his room.

Vegeta slowly trailed behind her with his fists on his hips as he rolled his eyes in disappointment. He entered the now quiet nursery to see a very calmed Trunks feeding in the arms of his mother as she rocked him slowly causing him to abruptly turn his back and blush at the sight.

"Isn't he getting too big for that?" He enviously asked, looking over his shoulder. The baby was getting the attention he hoped for a few minutes ago.

"Hmm? Uh… no…of course not." She smiled looking down at her baby who was lightly sucking with his eyes closed. "Besides, right now, it's more of a comforting agent…Huh? Where are you going?" She looked up to see Vegeta leaving the door way.

"To bed." He blandly stated, walking back to Bulma's room. "You can handle him by yourself."

He got back in to bed and laid back with his hands behind his head as he slowly drifted to sleep, dreaming of his experience in the time chamber with the other Trunks.

****************

"_Father!" Trunks cried amidst the flames that engulfed his father. He rushed to his side only to be smacked to the ground._

"_Get back!" Vegeta commanded still holding the arm out that thrashed his son. "I don't need your help…I train alone…Stay away." He finished then started to walk off into total whiteness._

****************

He woke up the next morning, quite surprised to find Trunks on top of his chest staring him in the face; and he was not crying. Feeling his shoulder was wet, he then turned his head slightly to the right to find Bulma was sound asleep drooling on it. It seemed that she brought Trunks back to bed with her last night, and they all slept together. He gently removed her head, careful not to wake her, then turned his attention back to the little person who still hadn't broken the glare he gave his father, as if he was trying to say _"this is my spot, get your own mommy."_

Vegeta stared into his son's blue eyes with same look the child gave him. It seemed that Trunks had taken that as a challenge, for he started twitching his eye brows, prompting Vegeta to do the same. Trunks then seemed to add a little difficulty as he crawled a little closer to his father's face keeping the same cold stare. Vegeta somewhat copied by lifting his head a bit moving in closer to the baby's face. Then trunks moved closer…then Vegeta…then Trunks…Vegeta again. Trunks then won the contest by reaching out for his father's mane and roughly pulling it, causing the Prince of Saiyans to wince and break eye contact. Trunks smiled evilly as the self-proclaimed victor, taunting his father while he struggled to free his thick black hair from the baby's hand.

When he finally broke free, he pinched the back of Trunks' onesy between his thumb and index finger and slowly lifted him from his chest his face as the baby randomly turned, kicking his feet and reaching for more hair. He held him away from his face as he sat up and scooted to the side of the bed and placed him beside his mother. Trunks quickly crawled against Bulma's bosom and closed his eyes while she subconsciously cuddled him.

Vegeta smirked at the shrewdness of his son as he began to walk off, but then turned back when he thought about last night's interruption. "Wait a minute…" he thought to himself. Maybe it wasn't just a mere coincidence; the timing was just too perfect, like it was carefully planned. "Why that little…I bet he did that on purpose." He sighed then headed off to do a little training.

* * *

Well...Thank you for all the encouragement received from _Love Makes You Stronger..._especially to **omnipotent Porunga** and **dbz maineak.** Please review...let me know if this should keep going. I was rather reluctant to post, but you guys like...you guys keep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Mothers Nurture, Fathers Build Up**

Chapter 2

Don't own DBZ...well...not other than random episodes I have in my private collection...

It has been one month… a whole blasted month had gone by since the first time he slept in the same room with his wife in which nothing occurred because of a _little_ interruption. And it was coincidentally when all the guest rooms were vacated and no _unwanted_ guests, namely weakling ex-boyfriend and flying cat, Triclops and porcelain doll reject, or dirty old man and talking pig, lingered; even the _other_ son was gone.

Now, if he even attempted to go near her, the child would open his big mouth, and she would always go running to him after he had grown accustomed to sleeping with her that night. He had become very fond of his son, but he could not tolerate his spoiled behavior; so he would rather go to his old room to sleep alone in order to avoid the bullying of a possessive Trunks.

Taking a crack at other methods, besides intensive training and cold showers, to fill the void, he decided to watch that contraption that projected the silly, but addictive human programs. He sat on the sofa in the lounging area looking over the massive feast he neatly arranged on the coffee table in front of the television. Before he turned it on, he began to mentally check off the different appetizers making sure he had everything.

"…buffalo wings…check….chips…check… chocolate cake…check… cookies…check…soda…check… spare ribs…check…subs and sandwiches…check…" he continued to himself when the wife and kid entered .

"Vegeta…" Bulma called to get his attention, placing the baby on the floor next to the table. "If you're not doing anything, you can watch Trunks while mom and I go to the spa…"

"Oh…" He said ceasing his food check and looking up at her while grabbing the remote. "…but I am doing something…" He began as he turned the TV on. "I'm watching this thing and eating for the rest of the day." _Thing_ was referring to television.

"Thanks Daddy!" Bulma exclaimed, running towards the doorway as she totally ignored everything he just said. "If you do a good job, maybe you'll get a little something special later on tonight."

"Oh? What would that be? Strained peas?" Vegeta sarcastically stated as she started to leave the room. "Hey wait! I never said…"

"Love ya!" She interrupted, blowing kisses at him now peaking through the doorway. "Bye Bye Twunks…Mommy will mwiss youwww!"

She quickly disappeared as he gawked at the doorway in disbelief while the cheering of fans and announcements of referees echoed across the spacious room from the football game that was now playing on the television. Besides the fact that she totally outwitted him, he really didn't have a clue about taking care of babies; the Prince of Saiyans was no babysitter.

Hearing the sound of a plate fall to the carpeted floor, Vegeta snapped his eyes down to see the cause. Trunks' face was covered in chocolate icing and the plate that once held his cake rolled across the room and fell when it hit a wall.

"You!" he shouted getting up from his seat, as Trunks started to snatch down another plate. "Rule number 1… Never touch a saiyan's food!"

He picked the chubby baby up by the back of his white t-shirt now decorated with chocolate hands and sat him on the sofa; he then sat down next to him. He turned the television off, seeing it as a distraction, and looked down at the baby who stared back.

"Now…" he started, with arms crossed. "…there are some more things we need to discuss..."

He had grown more irritated with every passing day with Trunks' cheekiness and decided it was time to put his foot down as his father. This is his firstborn son, his heir…royalty, and he needs to conduct himself as such. Even though his mother is human, he also has the blood of his father running through his veins; so he should come to realize the way of the saiyans, for he is what his father is.

It would seem that any baby would have no idea what was being said to him, but Trunks was a special case; he understood every word his father spoke, as he occasionally shook his head or babbled softly in reply.

"…and a saiyan does not cling to his mother all the time…" Vegeta seriously stated to the child. "…he does not depend on anyone, but himself…and he does not shed a single tear for anyone or anything…"

Trunks began to grow bored at his father's speech and attempted to ease his way off the sofa. His father noticed this and gave a threatening glare, causing Trunks to freeze before his feet hit the floor. Vegeta then looked from the baby back to where he was sitting, gesturing for him to get back on the sofa. Trunks knew his father was serious so he tried with all his might to climb back on the chair, but it was very difficult being that he could not even walk yet. And when he started showing signs of weariness, Vegeta began to encourage him.

"Keep going…don't give up…" he commanded with sternness, staring coldly at the helpless baby. "Your future self never gave up…even when it seemed unattainable, he kept going…even pass his breaking point…to reach his goal…"

The baby stopped trying for a second a blankly stared at his father confused about who he was referring to. He then babbled in the form of a question.

"Hn?" Vegeta asked not familiar with baby talk, but then assumed Trunks wanted to know who he was talking about. "Oh…you know…the guy with the same name as you…same hair you pulled…you're him and he's you..."

As if his father had answered his question, little Trunks then zealously resumed his attempts. He finally made it back up and proudly grinned at his father as he took his same seat next to him.

"That's my boy…here's a cookie …" he smirked as he handed the baby his much deserved reward and then continued with his father/son talk. "Now… later on…when father and mother are having alone time…son does not interfere. Do I make myself clear?"

Trunks stopped chewing on the cookie and shook his head _yes_.

"Good…" Vegeta said then grabbed the remote once more, turning the television back on. He took the small cup of milk he had to wash down his sweets and gave it to the boy, seeing he had finished his cookie. "Oh…and one more thing…" He then added as he was reminded the issue he forgot to address earlier. "…get used to drinking milk from a cup. Got it?"

Trunks positively nodded to his father's order, and attempted drinking from a cup for the first time as milk unexpectedly splashed him in the face. Vegeta let out a small laugh then turned to watching television while eating the rest of his goodies and subconsciously handing Trunks small helpings every now and then.

And after while, Trunks crawled underneath his father's arm and fell asleep resting his head on Vegeta's lap; before he knew it, Father had dozed off as well.

"I'm ba…ck!" Bulma trailed off, running into the room to find a filthy surprise. "Look at this place!"

There was chocolate icing smeared in the carpet and the furniture, along with dirty dishes and cups everywhere.

"Oh. Mommy's sorwee…" She whispered when she saw father and son snoozing. She then tiptoed over to the crowded coffee table, got the remote and switched the television off, causing her husband's eyes to snap open and dart at her.

"Oh it's you…" he sluggishly muttered then looked down at his son. "…take him." He said holding his arms up, granting her access to the child that seemed to be her son covered in all colors and kinds of goo.

Bulma was somewhat relieved that nothing worse than this happened. She gently took the sleeping, sticky baby in her arms and laid his head over her shoulder.

"Thank you Daddy." She whispered. "I'll see you later." She winked, hinting to the _something special_ she promised him and left the room.

Vegeta lay back on the chair to continue his nap while he yet again dreamed of his experience with Trunks in the hyperbolic time chamber.

_*********_

"_Father…" Trunks called to Vegeta while they ate. It was just too quiet for Trunks, so he decided to start a conversation with the man that conceived him in his timeline. _

_Vegeta slowly looked up from his food but continued eating. Trunks figured that was a sign to continue._

"…_you're called a prince right?" Trunks asked hesitantly, he didn't want to offend his father being that he could get rather moody sometimes. Yet, he really wanted to know about his long lost heritage and his saiyan ancestry. If his father is a prince what does that make him? So, he figured that was a good question to start from._

_Vegeta just glared at him and finished off the last of his meal then he calmly stood up from his seat. _

"…_I just wanted to know…" Trunks continued; as his father kept walking but then paused with his back turned. "…I mean… you're father was king of saiyans…my grandfather…how did…" Trunks muttered awkwardly, as he stood up from the table. "…but since he's…should you…would I be… " He cut his words when his father turned to face him._

"_I don't have time for you senseless gibbering." He cruelly stated then turned back. "…but… but since my father, the king, was murdered and his kingdom, our planet, was destroyed…I did not properly succeed the throne… and I shall remain prince just as long as I live…and you…you are my son…you have the same royal blood running through your veins…so…if that's what you wanted to know." He then walked off to resume his training._

"…_yes…father." Trunks said smiling softly, trailing behind him but keeping his distance._

*************

Feeling the light patting of a little hand upon one of his thighs, Vegeta suddenly opened his eyes to see Trunks standing between his legs. "What do you want?" he asked the child, who just stared. "Where's your mother?"

Trunks angrily narrowed his eyes at his father's second question, causing Vegeta to smirk. His mother had cleaned him up and dressed him in fresh clothing as he slept, and he had awaken from his nap to find himself snuggled against her. The words, "_a saiyan does not cling to his mother all the time," _played in his head; and he immediately wiggled out of her arms, scooted off the bed, and crawled the distance back to his father.

"Oh I see…" He chuckled, as stood up from the sofa causing trunks to slide down to the floor. "…you remembered my words."

Trunks firmly nod his head in agreement then crawling after his father. Vegeta then stopped in his tracks and glanced behind him.

"That doesn't mean follow after me…_remember a saiyan does not depend on anyone, but himself_. But you can come with me for now… I'm going to do some light training…so you can watch…come along." He stated then began walking again as he motioned for Trunks to follow him.

Bulma woke up from her nap to find that Trunks was not at her side. She remembered she had put the baby down in the bed after cleaning him up; seeing he was still sound asleep, she joined him…but now he was gone.

"Trunks!" She immediately began panicking as she searched around her room. Seeing he was nowhere in there, she spring up and ran from room to room calling his name.

Bulma honey!" her mother called. "What's wrong?"

"Trunks is missing!" She cried still running. "I woke up from my nap and he was gone!"

"Trunks?" her mother said scratching her head. "I thought I saw him crawl into the gravity room after his father."

"What?" Bulma said running off in the direction of the gravity room. "He's going to crush my baby with the gravity!" She screamed, thinking Vegeta must have lost his mind, bringing a baby to such a dangerous place.

When she got to the door of the room, she peeked in to see if her mother's words were correct. Then she saw him…Trunks was sitting on the floor watching his father's moves closely. It seemed Vegeta was lecturing him as he was shadow boxing.

"…your first goal is to start walking…and then …" He continued teaching his son how to set goals and attain them.

She didn't hear a word that was being said because of the soundproofing, but she quickly moved her eyes over to the simulator to notice the gravity setting on 1g. "Oh thank goodness." She said to herself and quickly punched in the code that opened the heavy door.

"Trunks!" She cried running to the baby and scooped him up and walked toward the door, all as she ignored her husband. "You scared mommy half to death…"

Completely ignoring his mother's words, Trunks just stared over her shoulder back at his father's moves, as they went out the door.

"…did you want to become strong like daddy?" She asked the baby who was still looking behind him even though they were outside now. However, that last question had his interest. He looked at his mother with a still face as he slowly wiggled down her body to the grass below. Bulma kept a hold on his hands so he wouldn't fall. "Are you trying to…are you trying to walk?" She hysterically asked.

Trunks turned and gave her a solid nod for _yes_. Bulma was so excited to see her almost 10 month old baby taking steps; usually babies start walking maybe a week or two, before or after their first birthday. But Trunks was determined to start now.

"Really…Mom! Dad! Come quick! Trunks is trying to walk!" She exclaimed, towards the house neglecting to even call Vegeta. Her parents came running out the house to observe such an important milestone in their grandson's life.

"Look Mom! Look Dad!" She cheered as she guided the baby along with her hands while he brought his little stubby legs forward one at a time. "He's doing it! I can't believe it!"

"Oh my goodness!" Her mother exclaimed as they clapped their hands."Yay! What a little champion!"

Suddenly, Trunks hands slipped from his mother's grasp, and letting out a small yelp, he tumbled over, flat on his face. Bulma stood in shock while she stared at her son lying on the ground, as her mother rushed to help him up.

It hurt to fall that hard on his face, but the words of his father rang in his head. _"…and he does not shed a single tear for anyone or anything…" _So he didn't cry; he laid there focusing on shutting out the pain.

"Oh come here you poor baby!" his grandmother cried trying to lend him a hand, but he rejected it by slapping it away and giving her a glare, again heeding the words of his father,"_ …he does not depend on anyone, but himself…"_

"Oh you're a stubborn little guy…I don't think he gets that from our side…You're a tough guy like your daddy aren't you?" Bulma stated looking down at her son, then charging her fist upward. "Well come on! Let's see it!"

Trunks gathered himself up on all fours, and struggled to stand on his own. He succeeded at standing wobbling from side to side, as he continued to receive cheers from his family. He set the goal to stand on his own, and then the next goal was to walk…then…

"…now turn into a super saiyan!" his mother commanded, expecting the impossible.

"Isn't it a little too early for that?" Grandmother asked, and he verbally agreed with her glaring at his mother. His father said he would be ready to train when he learned to walk, and _then_ his ultimate goal would be super saiyan and become as strong as that guy named Gohan since he is the son of his father's rival, Kakarrot. Apparently, Vegeta had inculcated those goals within him during his short while in the gravity room.

After Trunks left the gravity room with his mother, Vegeta decided he could use a little more intense training; so he increased the gravity by 250, which really wasn't training too hard he thought. He also started a low level simulation then he began sweat a little. After three hours of that, he was satisfied for the day.

He exited the room to see it was nighttime already and well pass dinner too. He then entered the kitchen and saw that there was some food left out for him, and he calmly took a seat and ate. For some reason, he didn't feel like eating by himself. Strangely, the time he spent with Little Trunks and the recent dream he had about the other Trunks had him longing for company at the table. He ate all he wanted and headed to shower.

He exited the shower to total silence, and as he headed to his room, he stopped when he recalled what he told Trunks earlier that day. Since he had quickly showed progress by sneaking off from his mother earlier, Vegeta assumed maybe he was sleeping peacefully in his own room right now.

He went to the baby's room and quietly stuck his head in the door, and there he was. However, the half saiyan was not sleeping as his mother had left him to do; he was standing in his crib in the darkness. Vegeta's words had reached the boy as he suspected; all he needed was a push in some kind of form from his father.

Oblivious to his father's presence, he began taking quick steps then fell on the soft mattress below him. He didn't stop there. He crawled to the head of his crib and started over. This time he made it to the end of the crib without falling then crossed his arms proudly as he mimicked his father.

Vegeta smirked at his son's persistence, for he really wanted to train with his father. "This is surely the same Trunks from the future." He thought as he slowly walked down the hall only to stop in front of Bulma's room instead of his own which was a little further down. Her door was open, and he smiled evilly when he saw his wife peacefully sleeping in a short black nightie on top of the satin bedding.

Bulma stirred in her sleep when she heard the door close shut, and sleepily sat up in the bed with her eyes still closed in the darkness. One of her spaghetti thin straps fell off her shoulder, as she subconsciously swung her feet to the side of the bed. Her arms stood straight out in front of her body, and she slowly began to stand up.

"Going somewhere?" A deep voice asked from the darkest corner of the room.

"Must…get…Trunks…" Bulma said now robotically walking to her door. But was abruptly lifted off her feet and carried back to the bed. "What's going on?" She said snapping out of her trance.

"There is no need to attend to the boy anymore." Vegeta stated, as he pulled back the covers with one hand and placed his wife in the center of the king sized bed.

"What? He's still a baby…" She said stretching out and almost kicked him in the equipment needed to produce another baby as he was creeping over her. "…even though he tried walking today…"

"Really?" Vegeta asked as if he didn't know, bringing his face over hers.

"Yeah…" She said letting out a yawn. "…he tried so hard just to stand…it's so weird…he's just like you Vegeta...he didn't want any help…at…mmm…"

Her words trailed off as he softly muzzled her mouth with his, causing her to reflexively throw her arms around him. He then suddenly broke the lustful kiss to look down at her. "…must have been the encouraging words of his father." He declared arrogantly then continued with his delicate ministrations.

* * *

Okay thinking about ending here, but I have other chaps...I don't know if this was fic was liked that much...so oh well.

Anyway thanks for reading and reviewing to all those that took the time out...I really appreciate it...I really do!


	3. Chapter 3

Don't own DBZ…

Mothers Nurture, Fathers Build up

Chapter 3

Trunks was now officially a year old, a so-called toddler walking like he had years experience already. He trained with his father five days a week, each session lasting about a half hour. Because he was still so young and small, they only did small exercises like running, jumping, flipping, and stretching for flexibility, something like an advanced little tumbler's course for gymnastics. Trunks knew the exact time of day of his training, even if he couldn't tell time yet; he enjoyed his time with his father that much.

It was near that time of day as Vegeta waited in the study for him. It was his favorite room, believe it or not, forth in line next to the GR, the kitchen, and Bulma's and _now his_ bedroom, as he also had a brain that thirsts for knowledge every now and then. He sometimes even looked over the many Briefs' Family photo albums, getting a kick out of seeing how much Bulma has grown and matured as well as Kakarrot. He stood as he studied a picture of Bulma and Goku right before Radditz came to earth, the first time his _acquaintance_(not readily recognizing him as a friend) was killed. From what Vegeta knew, Kakarrot had sacrificed himself at that time too to save his son and everyone else.

He subconsciously gnashed his teeth just thinking about how that fool abandoned him…desperately trying to persuade himself that Goku had gotten himself killed just to avoid their fight. His thoughts were interrupted as Trunks entered and tugged at his father's training pants to get his attention. He was ready for his session, dressed in the cutest little blue sweat pants, tee, and boots with thick Velcro straps but still, for some odd reason, the little black beanie with the pointy ears still adorned his head. He wore it faithfully every day as he objected his mother's pleads to take it off since he was starting to outgrow it.

"Hn?" Vegeta said then looking down to see his son all ready to go. "Oh it's you."

"Da?" Trunks answered pointing at the photo album his father held in his hand.

"Oh, you want to see this?" Vegeta asked bringing the album down to Trunks' level so he could view it.

"Mama…"He said pat a hand on his mother's image, and then looked at the person standing beside her. "…da?" Trunks spoke again placing a finger on Goku.

"You want to know who this is?" Vegeta raised a brow as he watched his son pondering intently about the other character in the picture. He tapped Goku's head with a gloved index finger. "…it's Kakarrot…he's the one I told you about many times…he's dead."

"Da?" Trunks frowned as if he didn't know what his father was talking about. Vegeta caught his son's confused expression and decided to elaborate a little more.

"Remember? He died playing hero again…that idiot!" He said in a way he didn't mean to scare Trunks, but his nerves got the best of him. He looked up to the ceiling and continued letting out his frustration. "DO YOU HEAR ME KAKARROT?! YOU'RE AN IDIOT!!!" He then looked down to find Trunks staring at him quizzically. He exhaled deeply as he placed the album back on the shelf where it belonged. "Now let's go train."

****************

It was just later on that week when Bulma was having one of her own training sessions with her baby. She figured if he had learned to walk so fast and was now training with his father almost every day, he should also be capable of forming complete words and sentences. She had the camera set up and rolling to capture that precious moment when he would finally speak something other than Mama, Dada, or bye-bye.

Trunks was fully aware of his mother's intentions, and he didn't seem too happy about talking for her. He didn't take to kindly to being forced into doing things. He was the type to do things when he was ready and willing to do them, stubborn in other words. He stared at her with a disgruntled expression as she held up one flash card after another, asking if the boy if he knew the pictures on them.

"What's this one?" She asked with an annoying, perky tone, holding a picture of an apple. Trunks only glared at her with the same blank expression. They had been going at it for about fifteen minutes, and he still refused to speak a word.

"Ooooh, you'll like this one. How about this?" She held up a picture of a banana with both hands and danced it in front of him. It was his favorite fruit, so he actually liked that particular flash card. He didn't speak though. He just swiped the card from her, took a bite out of it, and then handed it back to her with a smirk while chewing the tasteless paper.

"I give up!" Bulma pouted while wrestling to the paper from his mouth and succeeding only because he let her. "I guess you'll learn to talk when you're ready, huh?" She asked now putting the cards back into their designated case, and then gave him a suspicious eye when she thought of how he was always willing to do things for Vegeta. "Or maybe if daddy taught you, you'd speak for him right?"

"Da!" Trunks exclaimed at the very mention of his father.

"Hey that's not fair!" Bulma cried with arms folded like a spoiled child. "You hurt mommy's feelings, Trunks."

"Mama." Trunks attempted to comfort her while placing a soft little hand gently upon her face.

"It's hard to stay upset with such a cute little person. How about we go get some ice cream now?" Bulma instantly accepted his forgiveness and stood of from the chair.

"Da!" Trunks was in accord with his mother's sweet suggestion. It was funny to her that he knew exactly what everyone said to him, but he always manage to answer in drivels.

"Let mommy just put these away…" She picked him up from the sofa and carried him over to the shelves where she neatly placed the box of cards. Trunks' eyes roamed over the section near them that contained the photo albums and he reached for one. It was the one he remembered his father looking through before. Bulma smiled warmly when she saw her son's interest in the album. "Oh you like the photo albums, do you? Let's see…" She then pulled it down and handed him as she carried him back to the sofa to take their previous seats.

Trunks immediately opened the book and quickly flipped through to search for the picture from before. His eyes widened upon finding it and happily pointed at the first person.

"Mama…" he smiled and looked up at her.

"Yes, that's me!" Bulma squealed with joy and then noticed her baby's baffled expression when he placed a finger over the next person. It seemed to her that he was making an effort to figure out just who exactly is that person. She knew he had only seen Goku a few times and thought maybe he was too small to remember her best friend's name. "Oh…and that's…" She paused as she watched Trunks fixed his mouth to say something.

"Ka…" he started and looked up with a frown as if he was trying to recall something.

"Ka?" Bulma repeated him, unsure of what he was trying to say.

"Ka-ka…KAKAWOD!" He shouted up to the ceiling.

"Kakawod? Now why does that sound familiar? Oh! That's Goku's saiyan name…that's strange...only Vegeta calls him that." Bulma thought out loud, and then looked back to her baby as he sputtered more words.

"YAWA IDDEE ID!!!" He finished and looked back to his mother with a straight face.

"WAAH?!!!" She grabbed him by the shoulders in astonishment. "What did you just say?"

Trunks blinked his eyes as if he didn't know what she was asking.

"Nevermind…I think I got it." She sighed after figuring the words, 'Kakarrot you're an idiot'. It could only have been his father's influence under which he spoke. She smiled when she looked up to see that the camera was still on and rolling…her baby had actually spoke a complete sentence and she got it all recorded. His words were shocking, but it still made her happy in the end. "I guess I have to thank that knuckle-head father of yours." She said patting the top of Trunks' head.

"Da!" he replied happily back at her, and they headed off to the kitchen for some ice cream.

* * *

Well, I said I had some more chapters of this but was rather reluctant to put them out. But thanks to a certain someone, I posted this next one. To that certain person, thanks! And thanks to anyone who has been patiently awaiting for it! Am I going to put out another? Well, I don't know for sure yet, but I swiped the complete tag just to give a warning...And yes this chapter is sorta tied in with Chapter 2 of _A Change in Time_ for all of you who reads that.

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

Don't Own DBZ! Thought I told ya!

**Mothers Nurture, Fathers Build Up**

Chapter 4

It was late night, and Vegeta's low sensuous growls (moaning to anyone else who heard him) echoed through the master bathroom as he relaxed his body in a much needed bath. The water temperature was just a little above what the average person would bathe in, but then again, he wasn't the average person; he could tolerate much hotter (For future reference, It wasn't so hot that it could scold a normal person). The heat, along with the soothing air bubbles constantly flowing from the jet stream, was just what he needed for his aching muscles. He spent his days mostly training which had brought on soreness and physical fatigue, depending upon the intensity he chose, at the end of the day. And today he had trained the maximum level that he was capable of handling.

He looked towards the ceiling, laying his head back on the terry cloth-covered bath pillow, and the usual stiff black flame he had for hair was currently weighed down by the wetness and flowed down his back into the water. His arms were stretched out across the back of the luxurious tub, while his legs comfortably rest on the bottom.

He found that in such a tranquil state, his mind easily wandered, again contemplating just why exactly did he stay on earth. He was very well cognizant of the reasons why, but yet it was as if those 'two' were fairly unacceptable. But who would mind the boy's training and/or bed the woman almost every night? Would it be that pathetic excuse for a warrior, Yamacha? There was no way he would leave his son and woman in that person's hands, and even the thought of anyone else touching his mate was rather detestable. The boy was different, though. He didn't mind the fact that Gohan trained him in the alternate time because that Trunks was pretty strong. However, this Trunks could be even stronger with his father's guidance. Therefore, in the end, there was no choice but to stay.

"Mind if I join you?" Bulma asked sweetly, interrupting his thoughts. She didn't await his reply to drop her briefcase and strip out of her business attire.

He huffed a bit at his wife's intrusion. It felt good to take a bath by himself, something he hadn't done in a while as he would routinely shower instead, and he was enjoying his personal time.

"Yes, I do m…" He began with his eyes closed, then casually flipping them open and glanced to the side as he scanned her already naked body that was only a few feet away. He had an abrupt change of mind, smirking as he thought of the activity they may possibly engage in. "…on second thought, why not?"

"mmmm…" Bulmalet a soft moan as she entered the oval-shaped tub, capable of accommodating five persons easily. With all the room available, she positioned herself comfortably between his legs and laid the back of her head against his chest. "…this feels so go..." She cut her words to scoot over to the edge of the tub and stretched an arm to reach for her bag.

"What are you doing?" Vegeta inquired while subconsciously holding onto her sides to keep her from slipping as she leaned her body over the ledge.

"mmm…." She took her previous position, this time while holding what appeared to be a previously smoked cigarette between index and middle fingers, careful not to get it wet. "Light this for me, will ya hon?" She requested, tilting her head up to look at him.

He studied the rolled tobacco stick carefully, noting it was the same brand as the old man's, and twitched his eyes in disgust.

"These things are bad for you." He calmly stated before he formed the tiniest ball of energy at the tip of his finger and lit it anyway. She took a puff to keep the flame going, and then both leaned back together.

Since the corporation started transitioning under her full command, Vegeta had frequently smelled the scent of smoke on her, which was not very pleasant to him; the smell often caused him to picture his father-in-law. And in harmony with his prior statement, they were indeed detrimental to her health and anyone else she would smoke around.

"I know…" She exhaled, carefully pulling it away from her mouth and turned to plant the butt in a nearby empty soap dish, mostly because of what he just said. "…but I only smoke to relieve stress, not every day…so don't worry."

He was fairly relieved that she had put that thing out, but the room was now clouded and reeking of that awful stench. He wanted to tell her that the smell was very grotesque, but he knew she'd go off on him, ruining the mood entirely.

He grabbed the bottle of cucumber and melon scented shampoo (with conditioner to boost) that was stationed conveniently in the corner above his head as he cunningly deduced to washing the odor out of her hair first instead of starting a fight.

"And what are you so stressed about?" He asked squirting a generous glob of shampoo in his palm and slapped it on top her damp head. He then cupped two hands together full of water and spilled it in the same spot upon her crown.

"Lots of things…mmmmm…." She let out a faint moan as he gently scrubbed her head, his finger tips working in a circular pattern. "…fully taking over from dad…mmm…being a good mother…ahhh… and being a good friend as well…a little to the left…" He conceded her request as he worked slowly through the foamy bubbles to the left of her head "…yesss…mmm…that's it." His attentive pampering felt so incredibly good that she could fall asleep. Rarely ever he would treat her with such lavish care. Most of the time, it was her spoiling him.

"It's expected that you will run into some obstacles as your 'subjects' adjust to your 'rule' while you are in the process of 'succeeding' the old man, and that will subside after while…" He said with a bit of sarcasm, suggesting the whole thing was no different than a monarchy.

He softly cuffed her chin and tilted her head back ever so slightly to begin washing out the suds as she closed her eyes. "…so on with the second issue…why has the boy caused you stress?"

"He hasn't directly…" She went on speaking between his splashes. "…I just don't want to seem like a mean mommy to him…I've been trying nicely, but I just can't seem to get him to take off that silly hat…he refuses every time."

"So now you think it's silly…what happened to…" He interrupted his own words to take a sniff at her head as he had completely rinsed the shampoo from it. _'…ah much better…'_

"What happened to _what_?" She looked up at him oblivious to what he was actually doing.

"What was the word…?" He continued as he met her upturned gaze and their noses within a few inches of touching. "…_cute_?"

"Oh…" She tore her eyes away from his after a quick inverted kiss, a reward for washing her hair, in addition to actually looking the _word_ he just said. She then brought her wet head to rest against his chest once more and reached back to rest an arm on his shoulder. "It used to be _cute_ when he was smaller, but now he's grown out of the thing. It's not cute anymore. Hey, I know!" She startled him when she suddenly jumped and turned to face him. "Why don't you get him to take it off? He seems to think your opinion is more important than mine for some reason." She said with a hint of attitude and turned back around to relax. She came to this conclusion after think about who actually motivated Trunks to first walk and talk.

It seemed to him that she may even be jealous of his influence over Trunks. He chuckled mentally at her attitude, finding it quite amusing.

"Very well…" He agreed, while gently smoothing her wet hair backwards. Her short aqua hair now mirrored his own long dark mane, color and length being the only difference (not to mention the deep widow's peak he has).

After all, he figured he would sooner or later rip the beanie off the child's head anyway and disintegrate it whether Trunks liked it or not, but now this way, he would get something out her in return as well in regards to their son. "I'll get him to take that ridiculous head gear off, if you teach him how to properly use the latrine."

"You mean potty train him?"

"That's right." He smirked, smart enough to know that the potty training would be the dirtier job. And besides, he was just thinking earlier that Trunks would be much more advanced if wasn't wearing that diaper.

"But isn't he too young?" She looked up at him with a raised brow as a finger tugged her bottom lip.

"He's walking and _now_ talking, you tell me." He blandly asserted while tipping her head backwards to look down on her estranged face.

"You have a point…" She said, but didn't think potty training for the hat would be a fair trade. Then thinking 'what the heck', she planted another upside down kiss on his lips and then formed a smile that signified her agreement. "..okay, deal!"

Although they had a slight taste of cigarette, the small kisses were enough to send waves of pleasure shooting through his body, slowly turning him on. He would more than gladly take her right there, but there was another matter they had yet to cover.

He stared her into her blue eyes with a glint of desire before speaking again. "Moving right along…" He switched his attention back to the cause of her stress. "…third on the agenda…what's this about being a good friend?"

"Well, I talked with Chi-Chi today." She sighed as she slowly brought a leg upward and scanned as the warm water daintily flowed down its length. The small show she was giving distracted him from properly searching his memory before he answered.

"And who might this Chi-Chi be?" He innocently inquired as he observed her now stretching the other leg in the same manner and his eyes followed her hand as it ran down the smooth curvature.

"Hello?!" she said, causing a big splash as her leg drop back into the water. She frowned at his response and sat up to turn and look at him in disbelief. How could he have casually forgotten such a person? "Goku's widow?!"

"Oh…" He blushed briefly in embarrassment and partially because she found him captivated by the alluring but simple advertisement of her gorgeous limbs.

She returned to her flexing, this time raising an arm to study. In his fascination, he had quickly forgotten he would rather have her body and mind. He ran a hand up to meet and interlock with hers as he gently kissed around her neck. "…why do you concern yourself… with the likes of a woman…Kakarrot… so ignorantly left behind?" He said between nips and then stealthily brought his free hand to guide her head with the intention of getting their lips to meet passionately.

"Because she's my friend, Vegeta!" She growled in his face, instead of submitting to his advances. That last comment was very insensitive for even him, she thought. "And she's pregnant!

"Come again…" he reflexively jerked back and furrowed a brow. "…she's with child?"

"Yeah…" She pouted and crossed her arms in front of her as she now studied the end of the tub.

His lips twitched as he stifled a snicker, thinking about the possible time period that the second spawn of Kakarrot was conceived. '_That sly dog… he was relaxing alright_.' He thought it had to be some time right before the Cell games in which he, contrary to Kakarrot, went to fight Cell with pent up tension as he preferred solitude those days rather than Bulma's comfort. Maybe he should have swallowed his pride then and crept into her room a few late nights during the break; he, perhaps, would have fought better and Kakarrotwould still be alive for _their_ fight as a result. But then again, there was that night when he was in need of her assistance for certain other issues (namely, armor replacement), but found her in the lounging area, giggling as the 'ex' casually massaged/tickled her feet*. 'That reminds me…I was supposed to pound him for that!'

"…are you listening, Vegeta?" Bulma raised her voice to snap him from the reverie. "The baby should be born in a couple weeks, so I'm going pay her a visit this the weekend…would you like to come? Gohan asked about you."

"I rather not." He sighed in irritation, resting his arms across the back of the tub again. It was Kakarrot's choice to leave his woman and child behind. His mate shouldn't have to carry the burden, and he could care less. Or rather…he was more interested in caring for _other_ _things_ at the moment.

"Oh come on Vegeta! What would it hurt? You could even do some sparring with Gohan…" Bulma turned to half face him. She couldn't look him in the eye because she had made up that part about Gohan and she truly aspired to have a baby shower for Chi-Chi. "It'll be fun! Please? Please? Please?"

"Alright! Alright! Alright! I'll go." He grumped in retreat. He couldn't stand for her to beg in such an annoying manner, and there were times she even added in those exotic eyes to push it even more. She had to be the one and only female he has ever come in contact with that has used such suave persuasive methods. At that moment, he was thankful that Trunks was born a _son_ because he swore a daughter would have been just as bad as her mother.

"Thank you, Vegeta…I love you." She turned to kiss his stiff lips.

"I know…" He stubbornly huffed averting her gaze. He was so sexy when he looked that way, and instead of turning back, she loosely snaked her arms round his neck and straddled him. And with that, he instantly turned his attention back to her.

"You know…" She started again with a sultry, sweet tone, softly brushing her lips from his forehead to stop at his lips.

"What." He rolled his eyes, suspecting she would have another absurd request, judging from her actions. "I've been thinking…I would like to have another baby…" Her hands were now slyly feeling his chest up and down as she began to sweetly gnaw on his ear. "…what do you think?" She whispered with a hint of underlying fervor. And he just stared in deep thought as she continued her exploration of his upper body.

In reality, he knew it was not her intention to get pregnant as she only wanted to proceed with the just _the act _that leads to it, and it was not that he didn't to assist her. But the creation of another child could happen right then and there, plainly because she had verbally expressed that desire. It was different when she had gotten pregnant with Trunks as they really didn't take any necessary measures to prevent it; she had stopped popping those little pills a little less than a week before they were abruptly married. And honestly, he really didn't care back then. Nowadays, they were not using any form of contraceptives either, but he was so sure of his '_control'_ and that his '_timing'_ was on point…

"I think…" he muttered almost inaudibly, still in thought. Pondering so hard, he was even unaware that he had reached up behind her and began strumming the ends of her wet hair and at the same time, slightly brought his head to the side, granting her complete access to softly nibble at his neck.

They were just discussing how stressed she had been and the causes. There was no way she was ready for another Trunks and not to mention the changes going on with Capsule Corporation. In addition, she had been indulging in a rather nasty habit as of late, and he was not so naïve to believe she only smoked when she was stressed. So before discussing her birthing him more offspring, she would do well to quit.

At any rate, he reasoned it would be bad planning on both their parts if she were to become pregnant right now.

"…I think it's time to get out…" He suggested and kindly relieved himself of her clinginess. She sat in shock as he rose up and left her alone.

"Huh?" She tilted her head in wonderment. She didn't understand…just a second ago he was all aroused, and _IT_ was up like a power lever raised to the 'highest' position, and then, just like that, _IT_ had been shut down…all the way to the 'off' position.

She watched in a daze as he dried off, wrapped the towel around his waist, and nonchalantly exited the bathroom. "…hey, come back here!" She shouted in realization. It was usually her say whether they commenced in their every other night ritual, not his. "I didn't say I wanted to get out!"

* * *

*I thought I saw/heard a scene somewhere in the Cell saga, in which Bulma casually asks Yamacha for a foot massage over the telephone I believe? Am I right or just imagining things? Somebody if you will...

"Hey! This chapter was just V/B action! I thought the main characters were Vegeta and Trunks!" Some disappointed readers shouts to IP.

Oh, suck it up! Who doesn't love V/B action! You'll get father/son interaction the next chapter, and that one will be up in 'two shakes of a lamb's tail!' Okay, you got me...I don't know exactly how long that is, but I can tell you it'll be up maybe in another two days. I have it done. I'm just revising, alright?

Anyway, reviews are greatly appreciated. I would love more feedback for this particular fic...it helps me determine how long I'll keep it going. Reviews (simple motivation) are like logs thrown into the flames to keep the fire burning. And I think have only a few more chapters after this one up my sleeve...it depends. If you don't really want to leave a review, just kindly add to alerts or something. You can even pm if you feel that would be better. Thanks!

Oh, and I'm running a little experiment! If you like the following little extra skit, please feel free to add a little comment in the review:

**He Said/She Said**

_(Summary: Young Trunks plays the role of a investigator as he really wants to know what brought his parents together, so he randomly interviews different parties to determine the true story for himself)_

Part 1-- Vegeta Said

Trunks: So is it true you used to date my mom?

Yamacha: Uh yeah...who told you that, Trunks?

Trunks: My dad.

Yamacha: Oh yeah...So what else did he tell you?

Trunks: He also said you could have been my father, if it weren't for some _'minor issues'_ you had.

Yamacha: Huh? He really said that?

Trunks: Well...he didn't exactly say it like that but...

Yamacha: But what? what did he say exactly?

Trunks: He said, *ahem*(flawlessly imitates Vegeta's voice) "...Yes, '_he'_ could have very well sired you, but your mother desired an_ 'elite-class'_ male of '_royal'_ status, someone capable of producing strong and exceptional offspring...and _'this'_ is why _'I'_ am your father instead...BECAUSE 'HE' WAS JUST A PATHETIC WEAKLING WHOSE SEED PROVED TO BE INSUFFICIENT..."

Yamacha: Hey! That's not true!

Trunks: (Back to normal voice) It's not…so what's your side then?


	5. Chapter 5

Don't Own DBZ! Thought I told ya!

**Mothers Nurture, Fathers Build Up**

Chapter 5

It was just after noon the next day, and Mrs. Briefs readied her grandson for his daily training with his father. She had been taking on this task, since Bulma had been working at the main office, and was his predominant caretaker during the day.

Trunks had become quite adept at dressing his own little body, however, and always declined any assistance, although it took him a while to put whatever limb in through the right hole and whatever foot in the right shoe. The Velcro on the boots was his favorite part. Sometimes he would fasten and unfasten repeatedly just to get a kick of the sound it made. Also, there was never a problem with his little black cap, and that was probably because he'd never take it off, unless it was during a bath or an occasionally trimming, which his mother had to fight with him in order to do so. She would have to promise he could put it back on afterwards to settle him.

Vegeta conducted the usual training with his son, but he had not been satisfied with the boy's overall progress for the day. He blamed it on that diaper thing again. Trunks froze in the middle of the session and backed away from his father, and then shyly came back with a saggy bottom. _"Twunks poo-pee…"_he passively expressed to his father, and Vegeta immediately called for his mother-in-law to rid his son of the stinky diaper. Trunks returned, powder fresh, having wasted valuable training time. It would take some hard work on Bulma's part to get Trunks familiar with using the toilet, but she made a deal with his father.

Vegeta recalled that particular agreement as he and Trunks entered the main housing area, and he decided to address the matter of the 'pointy-eared beanie' at that time.

"Trunks, isn't it about time you take that thing off your head?" He looked down at the boy as they entered the study. Bulma decided to take an afternoon off to begin Trunks' potty training, and the study was their planned meeting place.

Trunks innocently patted the top of his head, not really sure what 'thing' his father was implicating. He then shot Vegeta a perturbed glare as it dawned upon him that his favorite clothing article was the only 'thing' upon his head.

Vegeta took a seat in his favorite chair, while gesturing for the boy to come to him, and Trunks slowly treaded over to his father with his little chubby arms crossed stubbornly in front of him. He knew what his father was onto and did not like it one bit.

"That's getting too small for you…" Vegeta pointed at the head gear with a stern finger as Trunks parked before him. "It's time to get rid of it."

Trunks did an awkward about face and glanced with angry eyes over his shoulder.

"Twunks no wanna." He pouted, then faced forward.

"And why not?!" Vegeta growled, almost growing impatient already as he reached out and turned the boy back to face him properly. His slightly angered expression faded when he saw the reason his son may have turned away from him. Trunks had a single tear running from one of his blue eyes as the other fought to barricade another leaky pool; he was hiding the fact that he was crying from his father.

Vegeta smirked at the boy, as he remembered the words he had strongly impressed upon Trunks some months ago: _'…and he (a Saiyan) does not shed a single tear for anyone or anything…' _

Trunks was ashamed that he had gone against his father's words and shed tears, but his father was fairly proud regardless of the fact. Vegeta supposed that he would have to make some minor amendments. After all, he himself shed a many tears in his life time, one time being right before he had died by the hands of Frieza and many times before that unfortunate event. Therefore, he had contradicted himself and could be labeled as a hypocrite.

"Trunks…" He sighed heavily and placed a palm on the boy's crown. "…tell me…why do you not wish to comply?"

Trunks did not fully understand the exact meaning of some of his father's last words, but he figured Vegeta was 'politely' asking the same question.

Trunks sniffled as he wiped his 'tear and a half' and looked up at his father.

"Twunks hehwu (hair) wike(like) Dad-dee." Trunks softly stated with hint of sadness. If his mother was there, she would have broken down in tears herself while squeezing him tight; he was just that cute.

"What?" Vegeta heard his son's utterance clearly but asked purely out of reflex to confirm what Trunks had just said.

"**Twunks**…**hehwu**…**wike**…**Dad**-**dee**." Trunks slowly repeated, strongly stressing each word and a little louder than last time as his little head moved up and down for special emphasis.

"Oh…" Vegeta chuckled softly. That would have been the last reason he thought of as it was a ridiculous reason, but acceptable for an advanced, talking toddler who was barely a year and a half. "…so you think that thing makes your hair look more like mine, do you?"

Trunks dejectedly shook his head for yes. He then watched as his father stood and walked across the room, stopping in front of a mirror above the vacant fireplace.

"Come here, son…" Vegeta said facing his reflection, and Trunks padded over to him. He grabbed a hold of the back of boy's top as he gently pulled him up to stand on the mantle and look at his reflected image. "… You see, it's nothing like mine…"

Vegeta kindly pointed out the differences in his hair verses the black beanie. He figured Trunks was mainly focused on the 'point' as well as the dark color. His hair came together to form one point, not two, and besides, the thing was made from threads of cotton totally different than thick strands of Saiyan hair. "Touch it…" he said slouching just a bit to let Trunks get a good feel. "…does my hair even feel like that thing?"

"Oh-wu." Trunks said rubbing a good bit of hair between his fingers. It wasn't Trunks' first time touching his father's thick mane, but those were valid points Vegeta had made.

"If anything, it makes you look like the old man's fury companion, not me." Vegeta continued drawing a scrunched look of disappointment from Trunks as the boy realized his father's statement made sense. That thing does look more like the top of Scratch's head.

"There…" Vegeta said pulling the beanie off his little head and set it on the mantle to reveal a messy lavender mane. "…does not Trunks look more like his father now?"

Trunks deepened his frown at his reflection as he mentally compared his hair to his fathers. "No." he answered firmly and huffed.

"Why not?" Vegeta followed up as he brushed soft purple strands to the side with the intention of giving Trunks a better view of himself.

"Dad-dee dif-fen (different)." Trunk muttered sadly with his sweet baby tone as he looked away from the mirror to his father.

"Look son…" Vegeta finally spoke again after thinking for a brief moment. His words would have to be assertive and yet comforting so that Trunks would stand tall and proud like the Saiyan Prince he is and like his father before him. "…You obviously had to inherit at least one thing from your mother, so that's where the hair comes in…" he said with a smirk, thinking of Bulma; her feelings would be hurt if she knew her baby apparently preferred his father's genes. "…and while we may not have the same hair, we have the same everything else. See…" Vegeta took the boy's hand, after having him turn back to the mirror, to form a point with his little index finger and place it near of his blue eyes; and at the same time, he mimicked the boy with his own finger pointing to one of his dark eyes. "…the color's different but we have the same eyes…" He moved his hand to his ear and had Trunks do the same. "…we also have the same ears…" He rubbed his chin between a thumb and index next, and by now Trunks wittily caught on to copy his father without out the guidance. "…the same cool face…and let me show you something…" Trunks watched as his father turned around, lifted his navy training shirt from the back with one hand and slightly tugged on his bottoms with another hand to reveal a furry nub in his lower back. "…you know what that is?"

"Dad-dee te-wu (tail)?" Trunks asked, second guessing his self. It wasn't the first time he had seen the left-over proof of his father's tail, but Vegeta had never really told him about it. His knowledge was one-sided from his mother's view as she explained a few times during his baths about the little knot in his own lower back.

"That's right. I used to have a tail…" Vegeta faced his son again and had him turn to lift the back of his white tee, while slightly pulling down his bottoms as well. "…and see…" He somehow positioned Trunks to get a glimpse of his own little back in the mirror, showing him the bare knot with light scarring upon it. His tail was removed by a highly-paid professional reconstructive surgeon unlike his father's that was chopped off in battle by that cowardly, fat-slob weakling, Yajirobe. Vegeta mentally cursed the poor excuse for a warrior.

"…you had a tail too when you were born, something your mother never had or ever will…" He fixed the boy's clothing and brought him down from the mantle by the same manner in which he put him up. He then smiled proudly while looking down at the boy, and Trunks looked up to him with the same expression. "You are more like your father than you realize." Vegeta finished, acknowledging to himself that one day they would both have practically the same hair when the boy would finally achieve the Super Saiyan level.

"Oh-wu." Trunks let out a cute little titter upon realization. He never thought about the other distinct physical features of his father in comparison to his own that show how much they look alike; it wasn't just about the hair.

"So I take it you will discontinue wearing this thing?" Vegeta asked snatching the beanie and held it out in front of the boy.

"Mmhmm." Trunks nodded for yes as he smiled brightly.

"Good." Vegeta said with a smirk; this task was a piece of cake. Bulma should have simply asked Trunks the reason he refused to stop wearing that thing, he thought to himself as he tossed the beanie into the empty fireplace. "Now stand back." He softly pushed the boy back with one hand as he spread the fingers of the other to aim and shoot a small ray of ki, setting the beanie on fire.

"_Woawu_!" Trunks coolly exclaimed in fascination as he watched with wide eyes. He wanted to learn that move next, he thought.

Vegeta stood as he also watched the beanie slowly turn to ashes in a daze, and he felt small hands grab at his leg as Trunks rested his head against his father. Their eyes twinkled as they both studied the fading blaze intently, and after another minute or so, it had completely died out.

"That's that…" Vegeta huffed as he dusted his hands and then looked towards the entrance for his wife as he had suddenly felt her presence nearby.

"Dad-dee wook (look)!" Trunks called causing his father to jump a bit.

"What is it?" Vegeta asked with a faint sign of agitation and looked down at the boy once more.

"See!" Trunks shouted with excitement, tugging down his pants and diaper in brisk awareness of yet another 'thing' he had in common with his father. "Twunks hab (have)! Dad-dee hab! Mom-mee no hab!"

"That's right, son!" Vegeta laughed hard at his son's rather unexpected little disclosure. Trunks was too smart for his own good. "…now put that thing away before your mother sees you!"

**

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I must say thank you kindly to all the faithful readers and reviewers. I really do appreciate it. Like I mentioned before, I have only a few chapters left for this one. However, I will not tag it complete as I feel I may come back to it later on if I think of something else. Meanwhile, if you haven't checked out any other fics from me, please don't hesitate to read those as well. I think if you found this one interesting, those may also appeal to you. Below is a continuation of the previous skit 'He Said/She said'...and thanks to those you submitted some feedback for that one as well. Thanks again everyone!

**HE SAID/SHE SAID**

Part 2: Yamacha Said

Trunks: Mom!

Bulma: What is it Trunks?

Trunks: I have some questions.

Bulma: Okay, but I'm drafting some new prototypes right now, so you're going to have to hurry and spit it out.

Trunks: Did dad become a Super Saiyan because of you?

Bulma: Well sort of, did he tell you that?

Trunks: No, Yamacha did.

Bulma: Really? Was that all he said?

Trunks: He also said it would take a '_very talented and charitable woman'_ to '_care for_ _and_ _love_ _someone_ _like dad'_ and he '_saw'_ that you were the best woman '_suited'_ for '_the job'_.

Bulma: That was very sweet, but strange…did he _really_ say that?

Trunks: Well…he didn't say those _exact_ same words but…

Bulma: Well, what _exactly_ did he say?

Trunks: He said, *ahem*(flawlessly imitates Yamacha's voice) "…was I surprised when I peeked into that shuttle window…instead of performing maintenance on the gravitron, she stripped out of those coveralls and so graciously performed it on _HIM_…Man! I always figured Bulma was so EASY even a MURDEROUS SAIYAN could DO her!"

Bulma: No he did not go there! …the nerve of him...lying to my son like that!

Trunks: (back to normal voice) So it's not true?

Bulma: Of course not!

Trunks: Then what's your side, _mommmm_?


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry once again for these slow updates...trying to get back on track with everything. If you've read my other fic 'A Change in Time', I'm trying to make up for the sucky ending for that one by posting an update for this fic. I hope it is not a disappointment as well...on with the story:

Don't Own DBZ!!!

Chapter 6

After some negotiating with his father, Trunks was now in the process of learning how to manipulate ki, but it wasn't as easy as he thought it would be. Vegeta had spent hours teaching the basic fundamentals, and Trunks was bored out of his mind during the lengthy dissertation. The half-sayian was finally relieved when he finally got to apply what he learned after a live demonstration. In addition, his father had made it look so easy by setting the little beanie on fire the other day, and he figured this part of training should be fun. He was wrong. It was nearly dinner time and yet all he could muster was a very little spark that didn't last a second.

"You have to focus your energy…" Vegeta let out a sigh as he slouched. He had skipped lunch not realizing how long it would actually take. "…try again."

"Twunks canno do." The boy pouted up at his father after a small strain in effort to focus.

"Trunks _can_ do…" Vegeta exasperated, squatting as he came to eye level with his son. "Listen, boy! My father taught me this very thing when I was a little older than your age…look just think of something you hate!"

"Twunks hate?" Trunks gave his father a glance in confusion. He never really thought about hating something, although he did know the meaning of the very word.

"Yes. Hate. Something you really want to BLAST into oblivion!" Vegeta exclaimed, smiling evily. It was natural high just to think about torching something for him. "Think about one of those stupid toys your mother keeps giving you!"

Trunks considered his father's suggestion for a second. Then his small face became flustered in slight anger.

"What's wrong?" His father asked looking in his blue eyes as he was a bit concerned.

"Twunks no hate toys, Dad-dee!" He said with a assertiveness.

"Oh, well, there must be something. Forget about it for now…" Vegeta said as he stood, stretching on the way up. "…let's move on."

**************

Bulma arrived late that evening from a rather busy day, consisting of meetings mostly. She had almost forgotten about the promise she made to potty train Trunks if Vegeta got rid of that beanie. She had skipped out on her last meeting of the day to quickly concoct a custom-made potty for her little boy, and she was sure he would like it and be using it properly in no time at all.

"Tr-unks! Oh Tr-unks!" She sang happily throughout the living area of Capsule Corps., seeking her little boy. She found him in the nursery ripping out his stock of seemingly limitless toys. He was looking for his _least favorite_.

Trunks turned at the sound of his mother's voice and saw her standing in the doorway with something behind her back. His face lit up with glee figuring his mother had another toy to add to his collection.

"Look what mommy made for you! Tah dah! Mister potty!" Bulma said with excitement as she brought the potty out within Trunks' view and set it before him. His face quickly dropped in disappointment as he studied the gaudy thing. The back of the potty was a clown's heavily made up face. The arms were the clown's long arms, and the legs were the clown's short stubby legs. The seat on the pot itself was the clown's big, round red mouth, and the splash guard was his creepy, white bottom teeth. Trunks disappointment quickly turned into disgust.

"What's the matter?" Bulma pouted. She was expecting Trunks to leap on the pot and start using it right away. "You don't like it?"

"No!" Trunks kicked the potty over on the floor, and it began to continuously laughing a silly clown's laugh as it was designed to do so when a tinkle was made. That small kick did quite a bit of damage as additional parts were now scattered beside the fallen clown.

He actually hated clowns after his first experience at a circus a few weeks back. One of the stupid creatures had the audacity to cut off Vegeta's as well as Trunks' own path on the way the concession stand and started doing stupid tricks. The clown's tricks didn't last long because Vegeta stopped him to play a game of guess which fist would punch him in the face if he didn't disappear for the next trick.

"But it's time for you to be a big boy now! This potty is to help you become a big boy!" Bulma asserted angrily, hands on hips.

"Twunks _IS_ big boy!" Trunks retorted with crossed arms and marched out his room as his mother was in the process of putting her invention back together. She looked up to see the back of his head as he strutted down the hall.

"Wait!" She called out to no avail. "Where are you going?

She blindly chased after Trunks, stopping at the kitchen when she didn't find him anywhere. There she saw Vegeta finishing off a sandwich.

"Vegeta!" She shouted with her high-pitched annoying voice, causing him to jump a bit.

"What!" He growled back as he turned to look at her.

"Where's Trunks?"

"Now how should I know!"

"Forget it!" She said and quickly left the kitchen. When Vegeta was stuffing his face he was oblivious to everything else.

"Trunks?" She stopped at of the bathrooms on the way back to his room when she heard a light pouring sound and slowly opened the door to reveal the source. "Trunks! …you…you're peeing in the toilet?! But how? When did you…"

"Dad-dee show me!" He proudly smirked at his mother as he tucked away his goods and flushed the toilet.

"He…_daddy_ did?" Bulma turned to face Vegeta who was coming down the hall as he heard the conversation.

"_Daddy_ _did_ what?" Vegeta asked looking over Bulma's shoulder to observe what possible mischief their son might have gotten into.

"_You _potty trained him?" bulma questioned in disbelief.

"Of course…" Vegeta smirked and started on his way to shower. "…I told you that diaper thing gets in the way of everything and I was growing impatient."

However, unknown to Bulma, it was actually an exchange for teaching the boy how manipulate ki; Trunks would learn to use the toilet properly and then Vegeta would teach him how to blast things. And since Bulma procrastinated with the training, Vegeta once again (and this time deliberately) took matters into his own hands.

"Since when?" Bulma continued with her interrogation as she subconsciously followed her husband into their suite.

"Oh, just a couple days now…" Vegeta sighed pulling of his boots and looked up at her. "…you haven't noticed? And you call yourself a mother. Shame on you!" He teased.

"I…" Bulma stammered as she was lost for words. It really was a shame she was so caught up in work that she failed to notice her baby had stopped wearing diapers. Her thoughts were knocked to the present by a certain stinch. "…hey, what's that smell?" She said as she began sniffing the air around her.

"You followed me in here! Don't start complaining now!" Vegeta growled as he blushed heavily.

"No…it's not you, silly." Bulma giggled.

"Wait." Vegeta inhaled through his nose as he now noticed the peculiar odor. "Something's burning."

Just then, a heavy cloud smoke intruded in their bedroom followed by the loud buzzing of the fire alarm and cold shower of the sprinkler system. Bulma quickly ran to the source of the smoke followed by Vegeta, which was coming from the nursery much to her surprise. She coughed heavily as she waved a path to Trunks.

"WAAAAAH!" Bulma screamed upon seeing her son amidst the dying flames and smoke.

Trunks' hand was in the blast position, and the new potty was roasted but still laughing. He looked past his mother to his father standing proudly in the door way.

"Wook dad-dee I did it!" he exclaimed happily.

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Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated!


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